Jul 21

11 200x300 Zen Bound 2 Universal Is UnboundWidely regarded as one of the prettiest games with the best tactile controls out there, Zen Bound 2 just received a Universal update which makes it… even better. We just got word from Secret Exit that this Universal update has been approved — it might take a couple hours to show up in the App Store.

Zen Bound 2 Universal is an update to the current iPad release that makes it compatible on the iPhone. It supports all devices with OS3.1+ and takes advantage of the graphics capabilities of the iPhone 3G and up.

If you are lucky enough to own an iPhone 4, the app gets the full retina display treatment, as well as extra tactile feedback upgrades that take advantage of the gyro sensor in controlling your rope. With the new update, Secret Exit “firmly stands” by the claim that Zen Bound 2 is the “most beautiful and tactile iPhone & iPad game ever”.

If you don’t own it already on the iPad, check out Zen Bound 2 Universal in the App Store at its new price of $2.99. And if you absolutely can’t get enough of the game, you can now download the soundtrack for free from the website. Just don’t listen at work… it may put you in a trance.

icon100x100 Zen Bound 2 Universal Is Unbound

$7.99

buynow small off Zen Bound 2 Universal Is Unbound

iPad Only App – Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-04-01 :: Category: Games / Family

[ Zen Bound 2 Universal Is Unbound is a post from 148Apps ]

 Zen Bound 2 Universal Is Unbound

written by Duy Phong \\ tags: , , , , , , ,

Jul 21
Developer: http://highfivelabs.com/honeydo.htm
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.50

iPhone Integration Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.67 out of 5 stars

12 200x300 Honey Do In Depth ReviewI’m about to release top-secret details regarding secrets that have existed since the evolutionary behariorial processes in men and women resulted in marriage. The fraternal order I’m speaking of is the unwritten laws which govern married men. Most aren’t consciously aware of these rules, but subconsciously adhere to them in rigid fashion, nonetheless.

So, in the interest of fairness and integrity, I’m putting myself at tremendous risk by reviewing Honey Do (voluntarily, mind you), thus exposing decades-old secrets, while simultaneously risking my Home and Garden-free life, as well as well as my freedom from DIY/home projects.

That said, I’m not perfect and have certainly done some pretty stupid things in my life. Nothing, however, compares to this: Giving my wife a free pass to build Honey Do lists for me. I’m essentially taking one for the collective team, in the interest of maintaining our reviewing standards and integrity.

Now, before I start my review, I need to establish a couple of specific, unwritten rules all married men follow (or should follow): First, married men NEVER utter the words Honey Do; together or separate, i.e. bees make a sweet, amber liquid and “do” is always replaced with perform.

There are also certain sociological rules surrounding the infamous Honey Do list. For example, married men are generally prohibited from saying these words (together or separate) in front of their wives and/or other women, for fear of planting ideas into their heads. Also, married men generally never mention Honey Do lists in front of their other married, male friends, as this may expose the married man to ridicule and embarrassment and his integrity as a dominant male will be questioned.

21 200x300 Honey Do In Depth ReviewThat established, Honey Do is an iPhone application that allows couples, or even groups of people (providing they all have iPhones with the app installed) to create to-do lists/projects, assign created tasks and duties and track the progress of these tasks (and hence the progress of the project) in real time. Lists/tasks have editable due dates and messaging capabilities which allow all users to interact with each other, as well as the elements of the project/list.

Here’s how HoneyDo works: Users create a free account using their email address. Once a user has an account, he/she can create a Group (which can be a project involving a series of tasks or a simple individual task), or join a Group, providing they have the necessary information (in this case, a code generated by the app from another user).

31 200x300 Honey Do In Depth ReviewOnce a Group is created, Honey Do allows you to invite others to join your group by sending an automatically-generated email to others you want to join your group. Hence, Honey Do is more than just a simple way to track Honey Do’s: its a powerful project management tool which allows users to create and track (simple/complex) projects.

Once a user creates a Group, the first Do (task) prompts on screen, allowing the user to enter a task, as well as information regarding the task, such as its name, i.e. what it is, who it’s assigned to, when it’s due, etc.

Once a task is created, its individual screen displays, among other things, the task’s due date and a countdown timer, showing how many hours are remaining to complete the task. When entering a task, users have the option of assigning the task to a user within the group and assigning one of several pre-defined rewards when the task is completed, such as money, love, a beer, etc. Conversely, users can also assign consequences to those failing to complete a task, i.e. payback and doghouse. A future feature I would like to see is the ability to edit these and create personalized rewards/consequences. This is really the only flaw (if you can call it that) I could find with the program. Once done entering the task information, simply hit Send and the task is created and sent to each member of the group, in the form of an on-screen alert and on-screen icon.

20 200x300 Honey Do In Depth Review 211 200x300 Honey Do In Depth Review 22 200x300 Honey Do In Depth Review
23 200x300 Honey Do In Depth Review 25 200x300 Honey Do In Depth Review 121 200x300 Honey Do In Depth Review

All assigned tasks are viewable and can be edited on the user’s task page. This page displays all tasks (based on/by assignment), shows whether they are completed or not and allows the user to create a new task. Users also have the option of sending an in-app text to whomever assigned the task, reject the task (oooooohhhhhh) and even integrate the task with your calendar.

14 200x300 Honey Do In Depth ReviewOnce a task is completed, the user checks the task’s checkbox and the host or user who created the task is alerted in real time. Conversely, when a task is created, those users assigned to the group will be alerted to the task, again, in real time.

26 200x300 Honey Do In Depth ReviewMy wife and I used Honey Do for a couple of weeks, giving it a thorough, solid assessment and not only did it never disappoint, we continue to use it. It allows us to keep in touch and efficiently collaborate on all aspects of running our household.

That said, I have to say, I am very impressed with Honey Do, both in its functionality and ease of use. More than just a Honey Do list, it’s a surprisingly powerful project management tool which allows multiple users to collaborate, coordinate and communicate in real time.

Admittedly, however, I found it somewhat surprising the developers limited the app’s marketability by naming it Honey Do, considering the app’s functionality and it’s project-management capabilities.

Honey Do’s GUI is also surprisingly linear and straightforward, considering everything it does. If you like or use to-do lists or are looking for an iPhone project management tool for use with other iPhone users, I strongly recommend Honey Do. Just make sure you don’t call the other users Honey, unless you enjoy demonstrating a flagrant disregard for decades of well-established rules.

[ Honey Do In-Depth Review is a post from 148Apps ]

 Honey Do In Depth Review

written by Duy Phong \\ tags: , , , ,

Jul 21
Developer: Villain
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.5
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 3G, iPad
Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Archetype Title Archetype Review

The entire goal of Archetype is to be a first-person shooter that promises no gimmicks, just pure gameplay, so wasting time on a cute opening paragraph seems inappropriate and a waste of time, so the best way to start off a review of Archetype is to just jump in and talk about it. Archetype features little story beyond a CG intro, it’s all about the first-person shooter gameplay. This means that unlike Eliminate, there’s no system that compels you to buy some sort of consumable in-app item, there’s just an experience system and nothing else. This is more of a raw first person shooter experience, and this is what the game focuses on entirely, almost to a fault.

Archetype Gameplay 2 300x200 Archetype ReviewAnd, well, if you like fast-paced FPS games, and hate consumable in-app purchase elements, Archetype is the game for you. You run around everywhere just killing enemies, picking up weapons and ammo, hunting down enemies using the radar. There’s little to no configuration necessary to get into a game. You just choose “Team Deathmatch,” and yous tart searching for games. After a minute or so, you get into a game and you’re off and fragging. The game runs great on Wi-Fi and on later generation hardware, but even on older devices like the iPhone 3G, the game is still very playable, and it even works well over cellular data connections. The controls work fairly well, but the right aiming joystick stops moving once you reach the edge of the movement area, instead of constantly scrolling around, making rapid turning a tricky proposition.

Archetype’s problem is that there is nothing going on beyond the default mode – it’s online team deathmatch or nothing. There’s pretty much nothing beyond that – no local wireless multiplayer, no free for all or capture the flag modes, just team deathmatches. The maps all blend together, and the character designs are generic futuristic super soldiers. The whole game largely just feels like an approximation of some other work – there’s little to define this game beyond the fact that it exists on the iOS platform. Archetype is desperately crying for more – and one can only hope the developers are out to provide more.

Archetype feels just incomplete. What is here is fun, albeit very generic, but there just isn’t much here. If the developers are committed to adding more modes and maps to the game to expand what the game already provides, Archetype could be a killer first-person shooter for iOS, but as it is, Archetype’s lack of substance hurts an otherwise solid game.

[ Archetype Review is a post from 148Apps ]

 Archetype Review

written by Duy Phong \\ tags: , , , , , ,

Jul 21

Green iPhone Bumper Free IPhone Cases Will Cost Apple $175 Million

Since the antenna debacle is kind of calming down, I thought I would revive it by throwing some big numbers at you.

During today’s Q3 earnings conference call, Apple revealed that it predicts that the free iPhone 4 cases and bumpers will result in $175 million in deferred revenue. It hits Apple’s books as a liability — essentially a debt or a negative balance on the bottom line. Apple says that it will expense the cost of the cases, which will help mitigate the overall cost on the bottom line.

In other words, Apple is accounting for $175 million in lost revenue on its Q4 balance sheet, all due to free bumpers and cases.

It sure sounds like a lot of money but when you think about it, it’s actually not much compared to what the antenna issue could have really cost Apple if they had kept being silent about it.

[Mashable]

written by Duy Phong \\ tags: , , , , ,

Jul 21

767080 New: Chinese Number Trainer By Trainchinese  (Reference)

Chinese Number Trainer by trainchinese 1.0



Category: Reference
Price: Free, Version: 1.0 (iTunes)


767080 New: Chinese Number Trainer By Trainchinese  (Reference)
Description:

Learn to use and Chinese numbers and have a little fun doing it! Translate numbers to and from Chinese, test yourself with the quiz (watch out for that rocket) and present your contacts’ details in Chinese.

Includes a built-in study guide with plenty of examples.

Features:

• Sound everywhere: we’ve used hundreds of audio recordings of a native Chinese speaker to produce natural-sounding numbers.

• Learn those characters: every screen features Chinese characters so you can quickly learn to associate them with the right numbers.

• Phone numbers: choose someone from your Contacts list (or yourself!) to display their phone numbers in Chinese. Tap one to play it. The number stays there next time you open the app, for convenient reference.

• The Quiz: the fuse is lit. How many questions can you answer before the time runs out? Tests listening, Chinese reading and translation abilities.

Whether you’re studying Chinese or just travelling to China, we think you’ll find this tool indispensable.


Chinese Number Trainer by trainchinese

written by Duy Phong \\ tags: , , , , ,